Love-Spanish.com: Ceniza

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Ceniza

Today's WOTD is: "ceniza" = ash

Image Source: Google images

In Spanish, “ceniza” is a feminine noun of Latin origin, which means ash.

The Spanish words “cenizo”/ “ceniza”are related describing words/ adjectives which may be used to describe:

Things being light grey in colour (ashen);
Colloquially a harbinger of bad luck and by extension, a killjoy, a party pooper, a spoilsport, etc.*

A related Spanish noun is “cenicero”, which may be used to refer to an ashtray.

Some commonly used expressions with the word “ceniza”or related words are:

Convertir en cenizas algo (to reduce something to ashes/ to destroy it);
Día de ceniza (Ash Wednesday);
Hacer ceniza algo (to reduce something to ashes/ to destroy it);
Hacer cenizas algo (to reduce something to ashes/ to destroy it);
Miércoles de ceniza (Ash Wednesday);
Reducir a cenizas algo (to reduce something to ashes/ to destroy it);
Tomar la ceniza (to take the ashes);

*NB Commonly used in Spain

Some examples of the use of the word "ceniza" or related words are:

Ese cenicero está lleno de ceniza y colillas (that ashtray is full of ash and cigarette butts);
La carcasa del ordenador es de color ceniza (the computer outer casing is ashen/ light grey colour);
No seas tan cenizo, Pedro (don't be so negative/ such a killjoy, Pedro);
El incendio convirtió el edificio en cenizas (the fire reduced the building to ashes);
El incendio hizo ceniza el edificio (the fire reduced the building to ashes);
El incendio hizo cenizas el edificio (the fire reduced the building to ashes);
El incendio redujo el edificio a cenizas (the fire reduced the building to ashes);
Tomamos la ceniza el día de Ceniza (we take ashes on Ash Wednesday);
Tomamos la ceniza el miércoles de Ceniza (we take ashes on Ash Wednesday);

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "ceniza" in the YouTube clip: ceniza fría

For more on the word "ceniza", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Ceniza*

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “ceniza” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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